Among the garbage that makes up mainstream and social media content, this “Don’t Say Gay” continues to make headlines.
Some say it’s an attack on human rights, while others say it’s protection for children.
But like most media stories, we only see the attacks and rage, with little discussion of what the bill does or its intentions.
So, I did something that I’m sure few “passionate” people did before posting scathing opinions.
That’s right. I read the bill.
Not someone’s interpretation of it or a summary, but the official legislation.
And if you haven’t already, you can quickly follow along with me so you can draw your own opinion based on the source.
But after reading the law, I only felt confused, but not because I didn’t understand it.
I just couldn’t find the origin of anger.
Let’s take a look.
Don’t worry. It’s not even a full four pages.
And I’m not going to review every word.
OK, great, but how does Florida define “primary grade levels?”
They asked Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston) the same thing during a House committee hearing.
He responded with “six, seven, eight to 11-years old.” But later, Harding said he would consider primary grades kindergarten through fifth.
I’m pretty sure fifth-graders and 11 year old’s are synonymous.
If that’s the case, the law says school admins can’t encourage sexual orientation or gender identities with elementary school kids.
Great. So far, so good.
In the first highlighted part, schools must tell parents if the student’s behavior changes and requires teachers to keep kids safe.
I wouldn’t think we need state legislation to require that. But OK.
Then it says schools must support parents’ rights to raise their kids.
Again, hard to believe we have to define that in law.
Reading the law further says teachers must encourage children to talk about sexual issues with parents if they ask.
Lastly, the document reads that schools can’t keep secret files on their kids.
Makes sense. I don’t need teachers to maintain a black file on my kids like they’re the FBI.
In addition, Section 2 says teachers can’t withhold information about their kids unless it harms the child.
As I understand it, if a student tells the teacher they are gay, and the teacher knows the parents would have an unreasonable reaction, maybe an abusive one, the school can make an exception until they find the best solution for the child.
That makes sense. There are exceptions to all rules.
There you have it, folks. That’s it.
You can even see the page count, so you know I didn’t leave anything out. And as always, links are in the captions or images so you can check my source.
Now, if you’re like me, you might be wondering. Why does the media call SB 1834 the “Don’t Say Gay” bill?
We just read it, and the document doesn’t mention the word gay or homosexual once.
To be super sure, I did a quick Ctrl+F search and confirmed.
Outrage?
So, why the anger?
The law says we don’t talk about sex or gender identity with elementary school kids.
The bill doesn’t say anything about ignoring homosexuality.
It says it’s not up to teachers to have that discussion, and if kids insist on it, they’re encouraged to talk to their parents.
But woke companies somehow see this as a crime against humanity.
It’s hard to believe that ESPN had a moment of silence for “sports fans affected by this bill.”
And it’s bizarre that Disney employees held a walk-out and protested this issue.
But Disney didn’t stop there.
The Disney-owned company Pixar edited a previously removed same-sex kiss back into the movie Lightyear in objection to the bill to further virtue signal.
Of course, the usual suspects weighed in from the mainstream media, Saturday Night Live, and The View.
Unfortunately for us Star Wars fans, Mark Hamill grabbed a torch and pitchfork.
Now, we just read through the actual bill.
Is it possible that Hamill and these upset protesters didn’t actually read the legislation they disagree with?
How could that be?
This kind of stuff makes a case for a mass formation phenomenon.
The bill says teachers can’t encourage or talk about sexual or gender topics for kids aged ten or eleven.
That’s hardly middle school.
And that calls for moments of silence, public walk-outs, and widespread concern?
The Kicker
That alone makes me wonder what the intentions are of these critics. Are they truly jumping on the bandwagon in need of an identity?
Or do they fear the Twitter mob will come for them if they disagree?
Let’s assume this bill is dangerous for kids for just a moment. We want to protect kids, right?
Recently in Operation March Sadness 2, The Polk County Sheriffs Office arrested 108 people in a sting operation targeting human traffickers and sex offenders.
And guess what?
Four of them worked for Disney. And Disney owns 80% of ESPN.
Are you kidding me?
ESPN has the nerve to hold a moment of silence to recognize sports lovers affected by this “bigotry” of a “Don’t say gay” bill.
Yet their employees are active sexual predators?
Here are the 2020 numbers for human trafficking in 2020 alone:
In 2019, Florida came in third for human trafficking cases.
And get this, of all trafficking victims, 25% are children.
So while predators sell children into slavery for God knows what, right in Disney’s backyard, they’re concerned that their state is passing a bill to ensure teachers can’t talk to small children about sex.
Why do they have time for a moment of silence for this bill yet never utter a word about this human trafficking problem?
To be fair, Disney can’t guarantee employees won’t break the law. I know this.
But the problem is where they place their interests.
There is a much larger issue at hand that harms children in the vicinity of a company that primarily caters to kids.
Disney certainly has the resources to combat human trafficking and publicly stand against it.
Why on Earth would Disney, of all brands, not actively fight human trafficking that harms children in their neighborhood?
If You Need Something to be Mad About
In 2018, sex trafficking survivors in Florida pleaded with Disney to stand up to modern slavery.
They declined to.
Now, as you can imagine, traffickers use hotels to manage their network.
Of course, many hotels gain business from trafficking practices, and some business owners may turn the other cheek.
But Florida lawmakers proposed House Bill 167 and Senate Bill 1044 to hold hotel owners accountable for such accommodations if hotel operators knowingly participated or there’s enough evidence to show they ignored it.
When the legislation failed, trafficking survivors asked Disney to step up as the international organization had two lobbyists registered with the bill.
Yet they didn’t vote for or against it.
Savannah Parvu, a trafficking survivor, stated to the Orlando Sentinel in response:
“My trafficker would leave me there. He would arrange for the staff to let [men paying for sex] in the room. … They never asked if I needed help. They didn’t ask if I wanted to let the men come in. … I had been beaten, bloody, bruised, walking down the hall at 12 years old, and nobody asked if I needed anything.”
“Because nobody helped me, I continued to be a victim for several years and have recently had to have a hysterectomy because of what was done to me,” she said. “And so I’ll never get to have kids.” -Savannah Parvu, human trafficking survivor
And this happens all the time, yet Disney doesn’t seem to care. At least, I haven’t seen any walk-outs or moments of silence over it.
Also, it’s right down their street.
In 2019 the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s office arrested 79 men during Operation Takedown in April of 2021.
With the help of the Cape Coral police department, law enforcement agents snared the offenders after they fell for the ruse of meeting minors for sex.
In addition, the operation uncovered three female trafficking victims. Among those arrested were a girls basketball coach, a pastor, and previously convicted sex offenders.
Look at that. Jails don’t need racial quotas. Gotta love natural diversity.
Mark seems surprised.
If you want to see more details about the recent bust from Sherriff Grady Judd at the Polk County Sheriffs’ office, I suggest watching his press releases on YouTube.
These meetings must be the most entertaining conferences online.
When the police caught a retired judge amongst the offenders, the judge told police, “he’s been on the other side of this.”
Sherriff Grady asked, “Which side do you like better?”
Well, Disney?
So what does all of this mean?
We walked through the SB 1098 and found the nickname “Don’t Say Gay” bill is nothing more than a political smear.
All it says is teachers cannot keep secrets from parents, allows parents to raise their kids, and not push sex or gender content on kids under eleven.
We don’t get a lot of time to be kids, and sadly some are forced to grow up at very young ages. Savannah Parvu’s story isn’t rare.
It’s amazing what people choose to be angry about.
But it shows that some people operate under a hivemind and jump on the Twitter bandwagons.
I refuse to believe any rational person would think this new bill is anti-gay and think ESPN should hold a moment of silence and Disney to advertise an employee walk-out.
These people must have sold their souls, right?
They know this doesn’t make sense, but they get paid to say it.
That or they don’t want to think for themselves.
Still, I find comfort in knowing only one person showed up to the Florida Disney walk-out to protest:
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
Disney is a garbage company, and it’s clear they only do what’s best for their profits.
And this isn’t the first time they have avoided the right thing to save a buck.
Just think of The Lion King lawsuit where Disney ripped off “Wimoweh” from an African artist. BLM, right guys?
A documentary called The Lion’s Share on Netflix covers the whole story. I recommend it.
Anyway, while everyone blows a gasket over this bill, they fail to understand it. Even though it’s available for anyone to see.
But few bother to look because they only see their Twitter feed and TikTok. They can’t stand not being a part of the crowd.
These people get up in arms over classroom content and claim to fight for inclusivity and compassion.
Yet nobody wants to stand up for the children locked in hotel rooms at this very moment, right down the road from Disneyworld, “Where dreams come true.”